Rohit Sharma is the most successful captain in the Indian Premier League. Till now, he has won five trophies as a captain and six in all as a player. Considering he has been so successful, you would imagine that Rohit would have had a smooth transition as a captain. However, that was not the case. Rohit Sharma captained for the first time in IPL under uncertain circumstances.
Ricky Ponting was the captain of the franchise in the 2013 edition. Both with the bat and as a captain, the Aussie was not producing positive results. Hence, he dropped himself from the team and handed the captaincy to the then young Rohit Sharma. In this article, we take a look at the playing XI when Rohit Sharma captained for the first time in the competition.
Openers: Dwayne Smith and Sachin Tendulkar
Dwayne Smith and Sachin Tendulkar were the openers in that encounter. While Sachin was an automatic pick, the West Indian was in good form, and hence, he played at the top of the order.
In fact, in that game, Dwayne Smith was given the player of the match award for his fine knock of 62 runs from 45 deliveries which helped Mumbai win the match. Sachin, though, had a forgettable outing as he was bowled by Sunil Narine for just two runs.
Middle-order: Dinesh Karthik (WK), Rohit Sharma (C) and Ambati Rayudu
During those days, Rohit Sharma was playing in the middle-order. Hence, when he captained for the first time in IPL, he had slotted himself at the No.4 position in the XI. With the bat, Rohit had a good game on his captaincy debut. He scored 34 runs off 28 balls and was instrumental in helping Mumbai complete the chase.
Dinesh Karthik batted at No.3, a position that he was successful at, for the Mumbai Indians. However, in this game, DK was out for just seven runs. Ambati Rayudu was the other member in the middle-order. He was unbeaten on 13 runs, as MI won the game.
All-Rounders: Kieron Pollard
Kieron Pollard has been at the core of Mumbai Indians ever since he was picked for a good amount in one of the initial seasons. The West Indian was also part of this game, which is memorable for Rohit. He scored 33 runs and bowled two economical overs in the encounter.
Spinners: Harbhajan Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal and Pragyan Ojha
It was the Eden Gardens, and hence, Mumbai Indians had to field three spinners for the game. Harbhajan Singh was a regular, and he was in this XI. He had already captained Mumbai before that and was one of the contenders to take over when Ponting made his decision.
The other two spinners were Pragyan Ojha and Yuzvendra Chahal. While Ojha had already done well in IPL, Chahal was fairly new in the competition. Ojha bowled four overs and picked two wickets at an economy of 5.25. Chahal, though, could not collect any wickets but was decent with his act.
Fast bowlers: Mitchell Johnson and Lasith Malinga
Lasith Malinga was at the peak of his career during those days. He was one of the first names on the team sheet for Mumbai Indians. The Sri Lankan was also present in this game.
Mitchell Johnson did well for Mumbai Indians during his stay at the franchise. The Malinga-Johnson duo had managed to set up one of the potent attacks in the competition. Both Johnson and Malinga picked two wickets in this encounter.
